A glorious spring morning at Reddam was the scene for the tournament hosted by London Irish.

Two strong Alton squads took the field for seven games against some familiar and new teams.

ALTON 1 MATCH REPORT – Andrew Kefford

The first game against Romsey set the tone for what was going to be an epic day. Seven minutes of end-to-end action saw James Manning running strong and straight to secure a final try which meant we were tied going into the final minute. Some great passing enabled Romsey to score in the final seconds to win 4-3.

Game two was against a strong New Milton team who ran some very strong lines against our boys. There were some fantastic tackles going in from all our boys especially from Arthur Kefford who made a superb cover tackle to prevent a try. The game finished 4-0 but did not reflect the effort our boys put in.

Game 3 was against a well-drilled London Irish Amateur team. Again this game highlighted the passion and commitment that all of our boys put into their tackling. A turnover ball set Liam Smith up to score a superb try in the middle of the game. The final score was a 4-1 but the boys came off the pitch with huge smiles on their faces after a fantastic display.

Melksham were our next opponents and this was an end-to-end affair with both teams attacking well and also making all of their tackles count. The game resulted in a 3-2 win for Alton with James Greenman scoring two tries and Alex Levey scoring one.

Game five was against a Bognor side containing two Alton Boys, Harry Gray and Alex Levey. Both Harry and Alex played the game at full throttle making great runs and Alex scored a great try for Bognor. Some really strong running from Finley Cole and Alex Smythe with support from Cameron White secured a hard-fought 3-2 win.

Game 6 was "the game of the tournament" according to the referee, resulting in a 2-2 draw against Maidenhead. There was nothing to separate the two sides. This was rugby at it's best. Everyone in the team ran straight and hard with great support from their teammates. In defence everyone put 100% into every tackle. This game was a pleasure to watch for everyone.

The final game against Newbury was a close 3-2 loss however the game could've gone either way. Archie Williams commanding the defensive line provided Newbury with an almost impenetrable wall of red and black with Henry Barttelot tackling everything that moved!

A fantastic effort by all our boys that reflected the hard work they put in every week at training. Very proud of all that played.

ALTON 2 MATCH REPORT – Andrew Hayward

Alton 2 started their day with a match against Maidenhead. With games only 7 minutes long and without a half time break, a slight change in approach was needed from the usual game of 2 halves. The team got out of the traps very quickly with very strong defence, winning the game 3 tries to nil - a fantastic offload by Joseph Smith with a number of Maidenhead players hanging off him acting as the catalyst to the try scoring. A huge defensive effort by all players put a stop to Maidenhead crossing the whitewash.

Next up was Cricklade who proved too much for Alton 2, scoring 3 tries to 1 from Alton, coming by way of a typically bullish run from Harry Gray who led from the front throughout the whole game.

Match 3 against Tadley Tigers was a very close affair, narrowly missing out on the draw and losing 3-2. They were a big team and Alton’s strong defence on their big players, notably by Toby Arrowsmith taking down anything that moved and Oscar Thirlwall hitting the tackle with full conviction, keeping the score to only 2 tries. Two tries by Zach Hayward kept it interesting with the draw looking all but nailed on but a sharp break down the touchline by Tadley Tigers provided them with a narrow win at the death.

Match 4 was against our old friends New Milton. A draw in the Hampshire Cup the previous week was enough to spur the team on to a fantastic performance where they dominated from start to finish winning 4 tries to nil. A superb pick up by Toby Bingham off his bootlaces produced a vital try and a well-worked score by Cameron Grinstead also followed - the footwork of Cameron being something to behold all day. The game was memorable for the defensive effort, preventing New Milton from scoring for the whole game, with huge tackles and strong running coming from Ned Bowden and somehow Denis Kilpatrick seemed able to plug holes wherever they appeared.

Match 5 was against Newbury, a narrow loss 4-3. A very tightly contested game with Newbury scoring the vital try in the last few seconds of the match after a very strong running performance from De Villiers Naude creating space for the team to attack.

Match 6 was against a strong Bournemouth side but a typically resilient performance by this Alton 2 team saw them win the match 3-2. A tough call from the referee disallowed an early score from Harry Gray after more typically strong running by him. However, a hat trick of tries through determined running from Zach Hayward sealed the win. Defence was once again the key - big tackles from Toby Arrowsmith typifying the effort to secure turnover ball and maintaining the Alton lead throughout.

Finally a game against Portsmouth finished the day. A low-scoring and tense affair with Alton just losing 2-1. A well deserved try from Joseph Smythe proved just reward for his fantastic commitment all day in both defence and attack, creating many of the tries scored by his team mates.
A great day of rugby and some tired players went home after showing great commitment and fitness across all 7 games. All of this while also providing some well needed assistance to an under-strength Bognor team - a day of rugby they should all be very proud of.